Medication may be stored or otherwise housed in a variety of packages. The packaging may include some pre-existing information printed on the package by the manufacturer. However, the packaging may lack the more specific labeling required by some purchasers or end users. For example, vials, syringes, and other packages used in the healthcare industry may include manufacturer information such as the name of the medication, the expiration date, etc., printed on the packaging, but may not include a bar code label required by a particular hospital in order to implement, for example, its point of care system. Additionally, the packaging of some medications may be changed over the course of time as medications are repackaged such that even though the original packaging may be appropriately labeled, the subsequent packaging may be lacking in terms of labeling. For example, the medication initially contained within an appropriately labeled vial may be drawn into a syringe. In instances in which the patient will not be administered the medication for some time with the medication, instead, remaining within the syringe, it may be desirable to label the otherwise unlabeled syringe.
Techniques have therefore been developed to permit labels to be printed containing the desired information including, in some instances, a bar code, for identifying the medication. These labels may be attached to the package containing the medication for future reference by a healthcare professional, a point of care system or the like prior to administration of the medication. In some instances, the labels include an adhesive portion that may be attached to the package and another non-adhesive portion that may extend outward from the package and may be imprinted with the information regarding the medication.
In addition to labeling packaging with alphanumeric information and/or a bar code identifying a medication, it may be desirable to also color-code the label in order to provide an additional, readily recognizable indication of the type of medication such that the healthcare personnel can have further assurance that the mediation to be administered to the patient is of the appropriate type. In this regard, different colors may be assigned to different types of drugs. Depending upon the type of medication in a package, the label to be attached to the package may be color coded so as to have the color that corresponds to the type of medication. This color coding may then serve as ready reference for a healthcare professional to insure that a package contains the appropriate type of medication prior to its administration to a patient.
A label may be appropriately color coded by using an ink jet printer, laser printer or other color printer to imprint a colored region upon the label with the color corresponding to the type of medication in the package to which the label will be attached. However, an ink jet printer, laser printer or other color printer capable of reliably printing an appropriately colored region upon a label may be more expensive than is desirable and, in any event, would sometimes disadvantageously require additional capital expenditures since label printing has typically been done with black-and-white printers. Furthermore, an error may occur in color printing if one of the primary color reservoirs runs empty or clogs; thus green may appear as blue if the yellow ink is empty. Additionally, in instances in which a medication is repackaged, it may be desirable to print a label for the new package at the site of the repackaging. For example, a medication cart, such as an anesthesia cart, that is moved throughout a healthcare facility may desirably include a printer for printing various documents including, for example, labels for various medication packages including, for example, those medications that are repackaged while on the cart. However, because of their desired mobility, medication carts are generally relatively small such that the space available on a medication cart is limited. Although a medication cart may include a computer with a black-and-white printer, it could be prohibitive from both a cost and a space standpoint to include an ink jet printer, laser printer or other color printer for the purpose of color coding medication labels printed on the medication cart.
As an alternative to printing the color codes on the labels, stickers having the various colors assigned to the different types of medication may be used to color code the medication labels. In this regard, a sticker having a color corresponding to the appropriate type of medication may be affixed to the label. With respect to a medication cart, the use of stickers to color code medication labels requires that additional supplies, that is, the stickers of the various colors, be carried aboard the medication cart. Additionally, the use of stickers to color code medication labels also requires that an additional manual step be taken in order to select and apply the appropriately colored sticker to the label.
As such, it would be desirable to provide an improved technique for appropriately color coding a medication label. In this regard, it would be desirable to provide a technique for color coding a medication label that is cost effective and that does not meaningfully increase the burden upon the healthcare professionals. Additionally, in instances in which the medication labeling is to be performed onboard a medication cart, it would be also desirable to support color-coded labeling in a manner which does not require the dedication of additional space onboard the medication cart, such as to store supplies, support an additional color printer or the like.